Mount Buller

Famous as a downhill skiing destination (and scalped within an inch of its life by ski runs and with a high rise development covering much of the summit ridge below tree line), Mt Buller has many aspects. From the west it has one of the nicest ridge lines on any Victorian mountain, which has a wonderfully alpine feel to it. The western ridge extends down and across towards Warrambat/ Mt Timbertop – a lovely mountain in its own right, with old snowgums lining it’s narrow grassy summit.

Buller splits the Delatite and Howqua rivers. The long, graceful ridges above the Howqua are a mosaic of rocky country, burnt out forests, pockets of older trees. Wonderful mature alpine ash forests still grace the Delatite side – not so badly impacted by recent fires, and protected from logging because they sit within the alpine resort. The mountain sits as one of the ‘front range’ of higher peaks that march eastwards over the Cross Cut Saw and into the Wonnangatta valley. When driving in towards the Mansfield Plains, you get that first wonderful glimpse of higher mountains as you cross the folds of hill lines below The Paps, two hills that help frame the Mansfield area.

To really get a sense of the mountain, there is nothing like doing the journey up the mountain on foot, via one of the ridges from Mirimbah or the Howqua. You realise it is a big mountain, as you slowly work your way through different vegetation communities. There is a lot of nice boulder fields and a bit of scree as you head up through tall trees and burnt out stags.

It’s generally not too hard to escape from the crowds – walk out to the rocky ridge line of Little Buller, or past the summit on the west ridge, or into the snowgum woodlands of Corn Hill.

looking back up the mountain at the west ridge, in late spring conditions. This is only a half hour walk from the summit car park but feels nicely alpine and remote.